Full Series The Clone Wars: Episode 305: Corruption Discussion Thread

It was not a bad episode, but it was pointless as it is. Uncovering corrupt staff and smuggling? That's just too basic to be a story for a single episode. I believe this story will be expanded in the next episodes, but as it is, it's just dull, pointless and uninteresting.

 

i liked this episode enough but i did several times. the dialogue was more atrocious than it normally is. yeah this is a kids show but does every little detail need to be pointed out and restated again and again? aren't we dumbing down our kids enough these days??

also i know this has been brought up before but ,seriously, why does Satine need to have a rallying speech to her own elite guard? Just say "Go" and job done. this is the epitome of what was wrong here. "Dur! i think i'll wait till morning to bust these criminals instead of calling the troops in now and following them to their warehouse now. Dur!"

still better than Senate Spy which is the only episode i stopped watching (at about the 4 minute mark) and never finished.

to give a number grade 5/10

 

?Why burn a warehouse if you just destroy evidence? Is Satine embarrassed that this happened and wants to remove any remnant of it?

Perhaps, but I believes she's worried about Mandalore loosing its Neutrality to corrupt Neutrality and/or brought into the war by force if she keeps the evidence until able to get the root of the situation which so many at her board seemed to have the disposition for, but at the same time Satine is risking being labeled a corrupt by someone and use it to achieve those exact means.


A most enjoyable episode. Satine rocks! I'm glad they seemly decided to incorporate more of Elizabeth Tudor personality in her character than just her mannerisms...her sharpness of mind, her pomposity, her temper, her backbone and will to do good even if not by righteous ways at times?it works so well and admire Elizabeth despite her shortcomings. I?m quite surprised by the backlash Satine has gotten. Would you guys rather another virtuous hypocrite like Padmé?

Don?t get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed some of her aspects in this episode such as:

-Addressing Satine's Council. Taber's best performance by far IMO. Liked how she was shot down.

-Wore drove changes...about freaking time! I must say I found the Brown Dinner Gown simply odd (liked Satine?s better)but I appreciate the effort. Now, a question really needs to be answered...where the heck are Padmé's handmaidens to help her??? I realize her conjugal meetings with Anakin probably gives her speed dress-up expertise, but still.

-Taking charge during the shooting ?It was just awesome! A total TPM hanger moment. I wanted to slap the Guard for his comment?.I literally almost screamed at the TV: ?She?s got experienced dumb!%*$? I didn?t see anything wrong with the Royal Guards not taking huge part in the action in order to do their actual function : PROTECT THE DUCHESS OF MANDALORE.

That being said, I felt they hit rock bottom with Padmé's character and I?ve lost all hope of seeing a full on par characterization to her portrayal in the PT for the following reasons:

-I felt her response to Satine?s question was too black and white and insincere at the same time. It seemed to me she only wants the war over just because of her personal reasons which I consider not to be true.

-Her reaction to Satine?s threat same thing and just annoying.

As far as the overall story and the dialogue go, no the best by standards, but I believe it did manage to deliver the crucial points of the episode nicely.

Satine?s and Padmé?s dynamic was cool?Now, I hope we get an episode that include their men!

The animation was AMAZING! Love how each episode seems more life-like as the Series goes on.

Things that truly puzzled me:

Satine's little courtsey to Padmé upon arrival. While I liked the animation, shouldn't it be the other way around Satine being Royal? or is it a Mandalorian custom?

Padmé's warm welcome. I've always thought the general public wold bear somewhat resentment towards her because of the passage of MCA which started the war...I wonder, are state matters in FFA really made public?

I rate it 7/10.

 

Actually, this episode was way better then nearly every 'war and battle' episode the series delivered to us this far. A battle episode always has the Republic heroes save the day and sees the Separatist leaders either dead, in prison, or escaping. That is boring. Even for 10 year olf children. Even a good episode like 'Landing at Point Rain' cannot change that. It was good that we saw Clones fighting Geonosians, but it was was not good that the Republic won yet again.
And I prefer seeing Ahsoka-learns-something-stuff in an episode like 'Lightsaber Lost' or 'Sphere of Influence' where she does stuff you can imagine a Padawan of her age, inexperience, and innocence would do, than seeing her save the day in war episodes like 'Droid Factory' where her presence completely destroys the credibility of the true face of war.

The Republic comics really showed us that with the Jabiim arc back - but I doubt that this series is going to give us something that catches this spirit even remotely.

The battles in the Clone Wars are completely insignificant. We know the outcome. And we know that Sidious and Tyranus are planning which side is going to win the battle. This is not the Galactic Civil War. People are essentially fighting amd dying for nothing. Or, to be more precise, they are burying their freedom by fighting.

The stuff behind the war is mostly more interesting than the war itself. But the war itself would be more interesting if the other side would actually win from time to time on screen. The Geonosis arc in the 2nd season would have been much more interesting if we had seen the Geonosian uprising which drove the Republican forces away. And the whole Ryloth arc also would have been much better if we had seen before how a Republican world became occupied by the Separatists. We saw some of this in 'Supply Lines', but that is the wrong way (we already know how things ended), and we actually did not see either Mar Tuuk or Wat Tambor. We don't even know why Tyranus decided to send his forces to Ryloth. Was this part of an important campaign in the war?

Showing us that the Trade Federation is officially neutral, that there are neutral worlds like Mandalore in the galaxy, adds complexity to the series. 'Senate Spy' was mostly bad because they did not explain the political situation to us. Now it actually makes some sense.

 

Yeah, it's just some odd custom on the planet. I think this was pretty apparent from Satine's line about tradition. There's probably planets in the GFFA that do stuff way weirder than greeting dignitaries like that.

 

Lovely post DarthJoe92316 , hats off to you!
I agree.



Odd custom indeed! Thanks for clearing that up for me Mond, I greatly appreciate it!

 

I agree with the people who say they need to show Lott Dod being given that kind of reception by the Mandalorians. His friend/sidekick/aide guy would be thrilled by it.

 

Welcome to the boards, DarthJoe! Don't let negativity scare you, usually we're a very delightful bunch...I think. At any rate, we try and keep things different. Hope you enjoy the show!

Glad to see you're taking a more measured approach to this, and I would certainly agree that it's a very slow start. Still, 'to the next level' is, to quote a certain Jedi Master, depending on a certain point of view. In terms of all out Star Wars action and adventure which we've grown accustomed to, no, we would have no reason to believe it's amped up at all.
But for my part, I'm looking at these episodes in comparison to what we've seen in cases like Senate Spy and Senate Murders, and find that comparatively speaking, they've taken steps to make the new ones 1. clearer in their explanation of politics and 2. have at least some form of action for entertainment. Is it a great mixture? Not always. Is it a HUGE improvement? That's up for debate. But I think it's an attempt that begs mentioning to bring 'these kinds of episodes' a step higher.

I wonder if anyone could get away with using that as a sig...

 

A good thing about this episode was we saw a large population and there were a lot more background characters so I think when we go back to corusant we will see a far denser population. And maybe with how fast they are pumping out these models we may see more jedi being desposed of very easily.

 

At least that would make sense of something in the episode, so that would be a good idea.

The thing is this, Satine doesn't trust anyone on her own planet - but she also doesn't want the Republic meddling in Mandalorian affairs - but she can trust her old buddy Padme(how long has she known Padme?), a Republic Senator who has the Republics interests at heart.

How or why she would trust someone she barely knows over people she's known her whole life....that just makes no sense to me. I mean really, she trusts Padme(and apparently every Jedi in extistance) over her own people? What kind of leader is that?

Then Satine has to lead the investigation, threaten an obviously loyal soldier that put his life on the line for her - ending with Padme saving everyone because she's the fastest blaster in the west..........And of course burning down the factory being the icing on the cake.

I'm not saying this episode was bad because there wasn't much action, thats really never an issue for me. Usually I think the show is too action heavy really.

I'm saying the show was terrible because it makes no sense, not any of it. Not Satine nor her actions, not Padme(who really had zero business even being in the episode), not the plot, nothing...............

 

Its not entirely clear who's really behind the terrorism this time around, is it?
I was impressed by this episode in some of the same ways the introduction of Mandalor last season impressed me. Its so applicable to current politics which revolve around the threat of terrorism. Last season, it was an identifiable terrorist group behind the attacks. This time, its you and me unintentionally playing into an enemy's plan.
I'm getting used to Padme's character too.

 

For starters, Satine already trusts Padmé:


In the Senate chambers, the session is interrupted by Senator Amidala. She projects the undoctored hologram of Deputy Minister Jerec, calling for Mandalorians to unite against Death Watch, and to do so independent of any Republic intervention. With this revelation, the push to occupy Mandalore collapses.
The Clone Wars Episode Guide: Duchess of Mandalore.

Satine wants alliances that won't compromise Mandalore's neutrality. She's seeking Republic aid through someone who shares her ideals and actually respects her stance on the war. As it turns out they are very similar.

 

This episode was one of the most boring things I have ever seen on television.

Really, really stinky stuff.

 

I'm just worried about the kids who now think that Senators are basically vigilante investigators.

Whoa man, look at all the people Padme's shooting! I wanna do that when I grow up!

 

I understand your point and I really need to re-watch to get a good personal view on this episode (I try and watch it the first time to just enjoy the visuals as such, but think about this if during every episode Ashoka, Obi, Annakin etc saved the world, defused the bomb at the end with 1 second left we would quickly call [removed]... there needs to be balance and IMO only at the end of it all can we really look back and say too many bland going nowhere episodes that just developed the theme and characters and not enough meat.

BC edit - can't use that word here.

 

Perhaps this was the worst episode after all- it really didn't make much sense that Padmé and Satine are friends- well in Mandalore plot Satine was so extremely pacifistic that she was angry when Obi-Wan punched and kicked Death Watch guys- now she watched how her buddy Padmé killed smugglers... really- is killing smugglers ok? Makes me wonder if Satine is somehow specistic and killing gotals and moogans is allright while hurting humans is not She is soooo hippocrite pacifist after all... and uncapable, tyrannical ruler of the Mandalore i see it....still makes her more interesting character- completely good guys are usually just boring....

 

According to Clone Wars Webcomic... which don't really make sense with all these prequels- without some retcons... It was decision of Wat Tambor to attack Ryloth- when he spied his rival Passel Argente who made profitable deals there. Apparently Ryloth has some natural resources (metals?) that made it interesting for Techno union... while we saw Republic defeat in Supply Lines- it was cunningly turned to look like victory- "Twi'leks live to fight another day", and diplomatic victory went to Republic also.... and destiny of Master Di was spoiled- not only by his name- but document in which Filoni was happy to tell us that they created funny character who has spoiler in his name- really?- are we going to see separatist leader Imagunnabe Captred... if so i am going to skip that episode.... Why they had to do that stupid spoiler name really...

 

This was easily the worst episode in the entire series thus far. Where to begin with this complete trainwreck of boring, incomprehensibly stupid nonsense? I'll quote someone who managed to succintly sum up everything that was wrong with this awful, awful rubbish:-

"- Terrible, stupid villains. You're smugglers selling tainted drinks to Children, the worst you may get is what? A fine, a few months in jail followed by a slap on the wrist? So to compound the issue you not only fire at Police Officers, but you take shots at two planetary Senators overseeing thousands of worlds and a royal escort of special forces bad asses? Idiots!

Which leads me to my next point.

- Why were senators involved when the local equivelant of the FDA should be investigating (and not blowing up) any criminal activity involving the distribution of tainted foodstuffs? Is the war going that slow that you can afford to throw two high ranking government officials at petty civil crimes? What's next? Is Yoda going after littering in the next episode? Will the 501st form an anti-drug PSA rap group? Will Dooku threaten to thwart the Junior Coruscant Football league by stealing their half-time Oranges?

It says something when even Gargamel of all people is a more competent villain than these half-wits. Stuff it, I'm going to watch some Smurfs.

- Speaking of half-wits, when did Satine (one of the few likable Female characters out of the entire show) become such a [bleep]? I know you have your suspicions, but are you really going to berate the guy who took a Blaster bolt to the shoulder defending you about not doing his job properly when he is actually required - under his job description - to confiscate materials that might provide evidence during an ongoing investigation.

"But what about the Children!"

What about them? They are apparently now cured thanks to you personally ordering the antidote (don't they have doctors for that?); and if you are really unsure about the integrity of your cadre of Officers, personally oversee the apprehension and confiscation of the materials for yourself since you have some much time to organize parades, investigate crimes and unravel this Scooby-Doo esque mystery in under twenty minutes. Nope, just burn down public property instead, that makes a whole lot of sense.

...

Between the absurd plot, the lackluster use of characters, a shameful failure to utilize the setting, awful dialogue, even worse delivery of said dialogue and the complete inability to make even the standard "throw the fans a bone" end of episode Blaster battle less than yawn-worthy, it upsets me to say that this was hands down the worst TCW episode I have seen, and can only hope this is as low as the show ever gets."

 

Review over at Den of Geek:

http://www.denofgeek.com/television/629352/star_wars_the_clone_wars_season_3_episode_5_review_corruption.html

 

You got some good points there (I wonder if Satine had something personal against that Police Officer?!?) but smugglers could not know about Satine and Padmé when they started shooting...they probably thought it was only a police raid....they weren't very wise though .... plus Padmé is known to put herself in every possible danger she can get- she has done that since her first appearance- good that there is always some jedi to look at her back.... If I would be Anakin i would lock her up somewhere- she is too big danger to herself and others

 

This episode was mundane, and when talking about Star Wars, that's a harsh critique. There was not a lot particularly bad about it, but it just felt so wrong. Illegally dilluted cafeteria tea is making children sick? I respect their desire to try different things, but to me this is NOT Star Wars. I'm surely not an advocate of all-lightsaber action, but this felt so unnecessary and ho-hum. Such a far cry from the space opera that this franchise is supposed to be...

The visuals were brilliant, and that's pretty much all the good I can say about this episode. Mandalore looked great, the costumes were very nice, and teh animation was generally very good, although there were some jerky movements here and there.

Now even the folks at the official site are under the false impression that cubism is about cube-shaped things.

This is certainly not the worst episode in the series, but I fear it might be the most forgettable. Even the dialogue is painfully repetitive "posioned children", "corruption", "greedy", "sick children", "greed"........

 

LOL Mandalore's cubeshapes reminds me of an old Donald Duck story with valley where everything was cubeshaped and round things were forbidden
I think that it was the best sentence in this episode when that schooldirector whatever (one of the many guys with Dee Bradley Baker's voice- one who tried to escape with a skiff) defended himself saying that "There are people that are more guilty than I am" LOL- really- would that work in courthouse... "I killed one person he killed two- so he is more guilty!"

 

This episode left me bored, and I liked Senate Spy. Sure, there were lots of people, but all the little boys looked exactly the same to me - are they a planet of clones? The costume switching was incomprehensible, especially as Padme and Satine wore the same clothes and sat in the same positions talking to Prime Minister in two separate scenes, it looked like they film two scenes together and screwed up the continuity work.

The repeated use of the word "corruption" made me think of Battlefield Earth and the repetition of "leverage".

The investigation was prosaic and could have been followed by any investigator with half a brain and a badge. And why was a captain from the docks ordering around Satine's personal guard? I'll watch next week, but this was one episode I'll never watch again.

 

This.

 

What's really sad it that I'd like to rewatch this episode to get a better look at the cool visuals and try to understand the politics of it a little better. But I just can't muster enough enthusiasm to actually press "play" and sit through almost half an hour of this again.

This doesn't make me angry, it just makes me really sad.